Farrell Files: Pitt Mining National Powers for Top Wide Receiver Talent

The Farrell Files: Pitt edition is back with some interesting happenings going on and my continued look at the 2023 class with the wide receivers.

Let’s start with 2023. This is a big wide receiver class with four players, and I start with Kenny Johnson who is the best of the group. Johnson has solid size at 6-1 and 185 and he’s arguably the most dynamic player in this class. He can stretch the field, he’s a home run hitter and can work in the short passing game or even take inside handoffs because he’s so good with the ball in his hands. I have him as a 4-star level wide receiver, and he was a huge get for Tiquan Underwood in his transition to Pitt.

Pitt football recruiting coverage sponsored by

RM LAW, P.C. is a boutique litigation law firm with a national practice dedicated to protecting shareholders’ interests and promoting improved corporate governance practices.

Next up is Lamar Seymore from Florida and he’s important for a few reasons. He’s a double-digit touchdown guy on a great high school team at Miami Central and he will help recruiting efforts in South Florida. He decommitted from Miami to head to Pitt which is a big deal. He’s not as long as Johnson but a tad thicker and stronger. He’s more of a red zone guy for scoring than a home run hitter like Johnson.

Next up is another player at a big school in Zion Fowler who plays at St. Peter’s Prep. This was an odd one as Underwood didn’t recruit him at one of the biggest preps in New Jersey when he was at Rutgers and started to when he arrived at Pitt. Some feelings needed to be mended and they were, and Pitt has another receiver with solid size who scored double digit touchdowns at the highest prep level in his state. He’s a lot like Seymore as a good route runner, red zone threat and can move the chains.

And finally, we head to the west coast. Israel Polk was a late offer, but they beat three PAC 12 teams for a guy who caught 8 touchdowns at St. John’s Bosco which was the No. 1 team in the country. Polk is the tallest of the receivers in this class but also the skinniest as he’s 170 pounds. He needs a year in the weight room most likely, but he has the highest ceiling to me and has the ability to play defense if needed as well.

What I like about this class at WR a lot is the programs they come from. Johnson is an in-state, but the others come from massive programs in Florida, New Jersey and California and that’s huge. This will help recruiting in many ways. I’m not talking about a pipeline or anything here but the second-tier guys at these schools are all legit players.

Pitt Striking Gold in Transfer Portal

Moving on to what’s happening lately as we are still waiting for at least one show to drop in the portal. It’s been very productive for Pitt in the portal landing two QBs in Phil Jurkovec and Christian Velliuex and SEC players in Donovan McMillon and Derrick Davis Jr. from Florida and LSU respectively. And of course, the latter two are key defensive players who are locals returning home.

A slew of offers when out for the 2024 class as it’s that time of year and by all accounts Junior Day was a success. Many of the offers were to Midwest players and two stand out to me especially. OT Jacob Schorsch and DE Liam McKenna from Elder in Cincinnati both received their first Power Five offer from Pitt and part of this speaks to the big program strategy. There are higher ranked players at Elder that get more attention, but the staff identified these guys as hard workers and players with size and upside. Schorsch is 6-5 and 295 and McKenna is 6-4 and 230 and both have space to grow. Others will follow but these two might just remember who believed in them first.

A New Name to Watch

And finally, 2026 QB Jared Curtis is a new offer, and he intrigues me. He’s big at 6-3 and had 27 touchdown passes as a first-year starter but he also ran for nearly 500 yards as well. He will get a ton of offers but Pitt is on him as hard as anyone perhaps but Vanderbilt.